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roxxxy
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7/29/2006
21:06:45

Subject: my broken truck needs help!
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92 dakota 4x4 ext cab 5.2L 318

My now ex-boyfriend took my truck 4x4ing a few weeks ago and did a bit of damage to it. I have a couple questions as to getting it fixed.

The biggest one, is the box is crooked, it doesn't line up with the cab anymore. Whatever he hit, a huge bump, or ditch, or whatever, he hit it so hard the box was slammed into the back of the cab. Is it easy to straighten out, or am I looking at a huge repair bill at the body shop?

Also, the fan shroud is cracked at the top, by the coolant reservoir. Can that be fixed or does it need to be replaced? It's a bad crack, the fan rubs against it now.

And a couple of easier ones, the coolant reservoir got knocked off and was rubbing against a belt and now has a hole in it, but it's above the coolant level anyways. Still need a new one. And a broken side mirror.

As far as I can tell, that's it, although I haven't been driving it. I hope there's nothing else. Just wondering if it's worth doing the repairs or if I should part it.

Thanks for any advice,
Roxanne




.boB
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7/29/2006
22:11:55

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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Holy crap! What was he doing, jumping streams with it? He must be from Hazard County. Is his name Luke?

Before doing anything, have the frame checked for straightness.





roxxxy
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7/29/2006
23:32:38

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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His name is not Luke, it's a$$hole !! haha

And I have no idea how he did it, but I'm sure if he told me I'd be even angrier with him than I am now! No matter anyways, he's gone, never to touch my truck again.

I'll get the frame checked, I'm really hoping it's not bent. The truck has been good to me. Thanks!



Josh90Dak
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7/29/2006
23:53:04

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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just a suggestion, but is the box crooked to the cab - or - is the cab crooked to the box? maybe he blew out your cab mounts? the box is mounted direct to the frame, but the cab mounts are only rubber...



roxxxy
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7/30/2006
00:43:51

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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That's a good question, I'm not sure. I can describe what it looks like if that helps.

The box sits back from the cab on the drivers side about an inch, and on the passenger side is almost rubbing the cab. It's shifted over about an inch past the cab on the drivers side, and the box on the drivers side is about 2 1/2 inches lower than on the passenger side. If any of that makes any difference.

Can a non-mechanic (me) tell by looking underneath it?




Josh90Dak
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7/30/2006
00:54:31

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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yes you can check. when you look up under the cab at the box/rear cab mount the bottom of the cab should be like 2 inches away from the frame. the easiest way to locate the rubber mount is to find the metal disk like item with bolt through it and a bit of rubber stuck above. above that set (the lower 1/2 of the cab mount) should be another piece of metal (frame part of cab mount) then above that should be another bit of rubber (the upper cab mount) of which i suspect has been crushed or "blown". if this is crushed then it will need to be replaced and would throw your cab out of alignment with the rest of your truck and may also do some other funcky stuff ( gear shift outta place a bit, steering a bit weird (possibly) or a few other things). hope it's your cab mount(s) cause they are alot cheaper then to have the frame straightened.



Josh90Dak
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7/30/2006
01:01:04

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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by the way the description you gave (which is pretty damn good for someone who is a "non-mechanic")sounds to me like the rear passenger side cab mount is blown or at least broken in some way.



roxxxy
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7/30/2006
01:22:05

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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I hope you're right about the cab mounts, I will check on that tomorrow, it's kinda dark here right now.

Thanks for giving me hope, I've been preparing for the worst. I like this truck, it runs really good for a 92 with 225,000+ miles on it. I don't want to part it out!



Josh90Dak
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7/30/2006
01:33:23

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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225k, thats it? 322k on my 92 318 mag, mounts are starting to go just from age. although i recently aquired a 3rd dakota and the mounts are completly gone, it's a 91 318 mag 143k (it's only barely been broken in.. :)



roxxxy
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7/30/2006
01:50:46

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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225k is just a guess, I have LT235/75R15's on it so the odometer is out a bit, on the low side. I've only had the truck for about 3 years and I don't know when the bigger tires were put on.

So if it's possible that the cab mounts were deteriorating anyway, I shouldn't have kicked out the boyfriend? hehehe



Josh90Dak
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7/30/2006
02:03:34

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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the mounts may have been deteriorating anyway. for the tires, aslong as the maintenance was done there should be no problem. my 90 has had p235/75/15's on it since the second set of rubber. as far as the bf, was he worth letting take your truck and breaking it? wether or not it was about to go or not, i'd never take someone elses truck off roading, let alone bring it back broken and expect them to be happy about it.



roxxxy
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7/30/2006
02:12:47

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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Just joking about the boyfriend, it was a long time coming. He won't be back.

I like the look of the bigger tires, the ones on the truck now are new, since March when the old ones put me in a snowbank. (And ripped off my exhaust at the same time.) I just put the same size on.



Josh90Dak
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7/30/2006
11:13:58

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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well by the sounds of it your truck will be safer now ... both because of the new tires and lack of a um... a bad driver... lol. anyway let me know how you made out, or if you need more help.



JerryM
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7/30/2006
21:08:03

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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Forget the truck, do you need a new boyfriend?
:)



roxxxy360
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7/30/2006
22:57:49

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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how does your truck run? hahahhaa Thanks but I think I'll enjoy the single life for a bit ..

Josh I looked at those mounts, are both the top and bottom rubber supposed to be the same width? The top one is thinner, but they all seem to be there.

My email is rox1547@msn.com can you please send me your email address, i can get some pictures of it, and you can tell me what you think.

Thanks for all your help




Josh90Dak
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7/31/2006
01:11:17

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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well all of them there is a good thing, although the top should be the same or thicker. i'll email you.



Josh90Dak
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7/31/2006
01:13:19

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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roxxxy > you've got mail...



Josh90Dak
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7/31/2006
01:14:07

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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roxxxy > you've got mail...



roxxxy
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7/31/2006
01:19:39

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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tyty i'll send u pics tomorrow, i couldnt find camera then it got dark then i found camera.

I'm gonna have to pressure wash under there too, to get some decent pics, what a mess...!!




Josh90Dak
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7/31/2006
01:31:12

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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dirt isn't a big deal, unless it's like clumps and blocking the view of the mount.



Josh90Dak
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8/07/2006
17:53:35

RE: my broken truck needs help!
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Roxxxy, did you get any pictures yet? or did you figure out what's wrong?



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